Tours of the National Library of Medicine and Clinical Center

Thank you for your interest in attending one of the various tours at the NIH Research Festival. The tours will emphasize the unique aspects of the NIH’s mission and history. To sign-up to attend one of the tours listed below, please email researchfest@mail.nih.gov.

All tours will be offered from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. each day.

• NIH Clinical Center Tour
• National Library of Medicine Tour

NLM Tour

The National Library of Medicine is a treasure to discover. Surprisingly, many in the NIH intramural community have never ventured over to the NLM to explore its vast collections. While its doors are always open to NIH staff and visitors alike, the NLM History of Medicine Division will offer a special tour of its collections each day of the 2016 Research Festival, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. in Building 38. (It’s best to enter from the front, on the Wisconsin Ave. side.)

The History of Medicine Division collects, preserves and interprets for diverse audiences one of the world’s largest and richest collections of historical material related to human health and disease. Sign up for the tour to see original classic books by Vesalius, Harvey, Jenner, and Darwin; European and Islamic manuscripts dating from 11th century; the Nobel Prize medal awarded to Marshall Nirenberg for genomic research conducted at NIH; and the NLM’s newest exhibit, “Confronting Violence, Improving Women’s Lives.” Tour participants also will learn how these materials, alongside NLM’s rich digital collections, can be used to support research. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity.

Virtual Reality and Innovative Technologies at the NIH Library

In addition to the tours, the NIH Library will host a Virtual Reality and Innovative Technologies event.

The NIH Library in Building 10 provides offerings that go far beyond the standard library fare of periodicals, books, and journal subscriptions. The NIH Library’s entire first floor, in fact, has been transformed into a bright meeting area where you can take a variety of classes, learn new technologies, use the Library’s own computers, or read and relax with coffee in hand. Relatively new services include bioinformatics training, informationists who can be “embedded” in your lab or division, and a writing center to help you get your research published or generally improve your communications skills.

Join us for some (educational) fun during the afternoons of the NIH Research Festival as the NIH Library offers demonstrations of virtual reality, 3D printing, a digital-production studio, and more. Immerse yourself in VR headsets and experience first-hand how virtual reality can enhance your basic or clinical research. We think you will like what you see…or, at least, what you think you are seeing. Similarly, 3D printing is changing how we do science by empowering investigators to create their own custom-made lab tools. Dream it; code it; print it. The NIH Library will show you how.

The demos will be Wednesday, September 14, from noon to 4:30 p.m. and on Thursday, September 15, from noon to 5:00 p.m. The NIH Library is just around the corner of Masur Auditorium. Please stop by between on your way to or from the Research Festival.

This page was last updated on Friday, March 12, 2021